436 



JOtr^FAL OF H)BTIOUi:iTUE:; AND COX TAG :: GAEDENEH. 



[ December 7, 1871. 



Manure water is given nearly once a-weet, and a little soot is 

 laid on the top as a dressing. Several of the trees are well 

 hnng with fruit now turning yellow, while the leaves are of a 

 fine dark green, and the growth of wood is very vigorous. On 

 one Tangerine tree I ripened last year thirty-six nice Oranges. 

 Oranges grown for dessert, of course, do not pay as a specu- 

 lation, but the trees with their golden fruit are very handsome, 

 and form a little cheerful winter garden.— J. C. Baenham, 

 Noj'wich. 



SCARCITY OF FRUIT AND THE REMEDY. 



Nothing so fully proves the value and utility of a plentiful 

 supply of fruit, especially Apples, aa seasons of general scarcity 

 like the present. In a proliBc fruit year the demand for gocd pro- 

 duce is always equal to the supply, -whilst a dearth of fruit is to 

 many little short of a calamity. The population of the kingdom is 

 gxo-wing apace. Cities and towns are expanding and sweeping 

 away trees by thousands. How many trees, how many orchards, 

 " once flourishing in the immediate outskirts of fast-spreading 

 towns have, within the last twenty years, been uprooted when 

 in the plenitude of fruitfulness ? How many tons of fruit have 

 by this means been taken from the consumer ? Were it, however, 

 possible to put the loss in a tabulated form, we should be startled 

 by its magnitude. This loss can only be met by a corresponding 

 increase of trees. Has such increase been sufficient to restore the 

 balance ? Up to the present time results would seem to answer 

 in the negative. Unquestionably large numbers of trees are 

 every year planted ; perhaps, indeed, so far as mere numbers go, 

 more are now being put in than during any previous period. 

 But where do we look for the great increase of planting, and 

 what are the characters of the trees planted ? On this point 

 there can be little question that the places more than others where 

 the regular planting of trees is a part of the yearly routine are in 

 the grounds of the nobility and gentry ; and the reason they are 

 planted in greater numbers than in past times is explainable by 

 the different class of trees now available, of which a given 

 number go in infinitely less space than the ancient standard type. 

 The fiee planting of trees of this special class in such places is a 

 wise practice. 



Early-bearing trees are naturally in favour with the gardener. 

 He is, as a rule, of migratory habits. Anxious to see the fruits 

 of his labours, he plants those which produce the soonest ; and 

 it cannot be denied that, in many instances, it is the only means 

 he can adopt, as, before slower bearers are in anything like per- 

 fection, he probably may be gone. They also "well serve the 

 owner's purpose, for he, too, likes quick returns ; besides, they 

 give the extensive variety which is coveted. 



This extensive planting, and the consequent plentiful supply, 

 add, however, but little to the fruit resources of the nation. 

 That they have an effect there can be no doubt, but it is almost 

 solely negative, and a positive effect is better. In such places 

 trees are sufficiently planted to give a foir supply in even a 

 season of scarcity. This is as it should be. But on the other 

 hand in a good season the surplus is immense. Where does it 

 go to ? In far too many instances, it is neither allowed to be 

 sold nor given away. This is not as it should be. I remember 

 that a great boast of a gentleman was that he gave his pigs a 

 ton of Apples a-year. He, of course, had a perfect right to give 

 the fruit to the swine, and a right even to boast about it, but 

 the propriety of the deed is questionable. Large plantations of 

 fi'uit trees have also been made by far-seeing judicious nursery- 

 men lor the purpose of realising profits by the sale of fruit. 

 The returns have done credit to their judgment and skill in 

 selection, hut that the demand is still great is evidenced by 

 the extreme prices obtained. Similar plantations are yet needed 

 for the benefit of the consumer, and would leave a good margin 

 of profit to the_ producer, taking into account the reduction in 

 value from an increased supply. 



Besides the loss of fruit by the encroachment of towns, the 

 supply in coimtry produce is diminished and diminishing. This, 

 again, is not as it should be. Judging from the garden and 

 orchard ground disposable in country parishes, it is surely reason- 

 able to expect that nearly every village should grow sufiicient 

 fi-uit for its own consunption. This, however, is by no means 

 the case, and the village populations are important competitors 

 with the cities and towns for the productions of the great fruit- 

 gmwing districts of our own and foreign countries. 



^ Take a general glance at the character of the trees in the rural 

 districts. As a rule they are scraggy and decrepid, fast falling 

 into decay ; and apparently there is scarcely anything to lake their 

 Ijlaces. Many of these trees have intheir best days produced 

 half a ton of fruit each in good seasons. A few such are stiU to 



be seen, but they are rare, and each year are becoming more 

 scarce. 'J here appears to be little disposition to plant useful 

 fruits in cottage gardens compared with what there was in years 

 gone by. This is most probably traceable to the diminished 

 number of freeholds. 



While fully admitting the drawbacks of the principle so 

 steadily carried out, there can be no doubt but that, in many 

 instances, the purchasing of small holdings by capitalists and 

 large landed proprietors to add to their estates has been of bene- 

 fit to the districts. Decent dwellings have gradually taken the 

 place of tumble-down hovels unfit for human habitation, and 

 the sanitary measures adopted have tended to diminish dirt and 

 increase morality. But there is such a thing as moral pauperism, 

 and it is a question if it is not being fostered by the present state 

 of things. 



If landlords would but establish small farms on long leases, 

 they would strike a deadly blow at the ugly pauper question, 

 which is a growing evil. The pure labourer has nothing else to 

 look forward to. He has not the means of helping himself out 

 of it, however willing he may be to do so. 



But fi-uit is the question, and buying-up of small holdings has 

 tended to diminish it. When a tree shows signs of decay a 

 landlord does not hesitate to plant another to take its place, but 

 it is very different with the yearly tenant. Cottage tenants are, 

 natm-ally, very reluctant to plant. Howev.er trifling the first 

 cost of trees may be, the fact of their becoming the property of 

 the landlord the moment tbey are in the ground, has a decidedly 

 deterrent effect on the mind of the tenant. A yearly tenant 

 argues thus : " I am not going to buy trees for my landlord, I 

 may be gone soon and never see my money again." That fruit 

 trees are valued is certain by the fact that a garden containing 

 them is seldom long without a tenant. The fact also is very 

 striking that, as soon as a man gets a piece of ground as his own, 

 it hardly matters how small it may be, the first thing he does ia 

 to plant fruit trees. 



Now, without assailing the law, but taking it as we find it, 

 and without taking cognisance of any possible ■ compensatory 

 code, a suggestion may at any rate be ventured. Considering 

 the growing scarcity of fr-uit in village gardens, and the cause that 

 has mainly contributed to it, would it not be well if the landlords 

 could see the expediency of furnishing a reasonable number of 

 well-selected- kinds of useful fruit trees to the gardens of their 

 tenantry ? The first cost to them would be a mere trifle, and 

 even this would not be lost, as the annual rental would in time, 

 with justice, be increased, and would even then be an advantage 

 to the rentpayer. The extensive adoption of this plan would 

 not only benefit those directly concerned, but would also confer 

 an important advantage on the nation at large. Trees for this 

 purpose should be of the old-fashioned standard type, requiring 

 little or no trouble to keep in order. Let those possessing cul- 

 tural knowledge plant bushes and pyramids to their heart's con- 

 tent ; but for the inexperienced the old-fashioned standard orchard 

 trees will, in the end, give the greatest amount of satis'actiou. 



The point to be kept in mind in selection is to plant as few kinds 

 as possible. Early Codlin Apples as Domino and Lord Suflield, 

 and later ones as Blenheim Pippin and Dumelow's Seedling, and 

 Victoria Plums — such as these planted in duplicate would, over 

 and over again, be of more real service than calhng into requisi- 

 tion fiity or a hundred varieties. 



The same with regard to dessert kinds. The best way to 

 ensure profit is to select a very few of the very best, and of tiese 

 plant largely. A hundred trees of Cox's Orange Pippin and 

 Sturmer Pippin, for instance, would give a better return than 

 planting the same number in as many or halt as many varieties. 



Limitation in selecting trees is not quite so much recognised 

 generally as it should be. It is easy to err in planting too many 

 sorts. It is well that this be impressed on young gardeners 

 especially. 



I would also call attention to another point. Many persons 

 would plant trees who do not do so if they had a site whereon to 

 plant. The fioint I conceive to be worth a thought is the advisa- 

 bility of planting fruit trees in and about shrubberies. Now 

 that Beet and Kale are considered legitimate subjects for flower- 

 garden ornamentation, surely fruit trees will not be voted incon- 

 gruous as shrubbery decorative objects. Indeed, they cannot 

 with much reason be objected to for this purpose, seeing they are 

 prepared for and admitted into the conservatory for the sake of 

 their floral effect. On the merits of their pro 'use and dtlicate 

 tinted blossom alone, fruit trees are submitted as flt and proper 

 subjects for extensive association -with evergreen shrubs. Then 

 there are the additional ornament, and, what is more to the point, 

 the usefulness of the fruit. In the vicinity of large towns every 



